Suspect, cop injured in scuffle, shoot-out at park in outer Delhi

A Delhi constable suffered fractures to his hand and shoulder during a scuffle and gunfight between the police and a 32-year-old burglary suspect, who also suffered

A Delhi constable suffered fractures to his hand and shoulder during a scuffle and gunfight between the police and a 32-year-old burglary suspect, who also suffered a bullet injury to his leg in the melee at a park in outer Delhi’s Bhalaswa Dairy on Friday evening.

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The incident took place when the suspect was taken to the park to recover a firearm that he had buried there, the police said.

The injured suspect, identified as Rafiq alias Rokha, tried to outsmart the police by tricking them into digging a particular spot, claiming that he had buried the automatic pistol and ammunition there. While the policemen were busy digging, he stood near the spot where he had actually hidden the firearm with just a constable holding him by the hand to keep him from fleeing, police said.

“Suddenly, Rafiq pushed the constable away and pulled out the pistol he had hidden nearby and fired at the constable. The bullet missed the constable, who immediately fired a round in the air to scare Rafiq into stop shooting,” said deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Vijayanta Arya.

As Rafiq tried to flee, a sub-inspector who was in the raiding team fired two bullets – one in the air and the other on Rafiq’s leg. An injured Raiq was overpowered by the constable following a scuffle in which the constable suffered two fractures to his hand and shoulder, the DCP said.

DCP Arya said Rafiq was involved in over 50 burglaries across the city and was also wanted for firing at the police party near Akshardham Temple last year. He and his associate Akhtar were caught with firearms from the same park on Thursday afternoon.

During questioning, Arya said, Rafiq revealed that he had buried another firearm in that park. The police team took him there to recover the weapon. He tried to flee after misleading and firing at the police party. However, he was caught after a brief exchange of fire, the officer said.